Dixie's Land and John Brown's Body
In any war, each side has always some one piece of music
which its armies delight to march by. An English Army,
I presume, would march to "God Save the Queen;" a
French army to the "Marseilles Hymn;" a German army
to "The Watch on the Rhine."
And so in this war, each side had its own music. The
Confederate army's especial favorite was "Dixie's Land;"
while the Union soldiers delighted in "John Brown's Body
lies a moulderin' in the Ground," or "Rally 'round the Flag, Boys."
I think you boys and girls ought to know these songs as
well as to know the battles of the war; anything that helps
to give us an idea of the thought of the people at a time, is
a part of the history of that time. For this reason, I hope
your teacher will find time to let you sing these songs now
and then.
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